1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for the improvement of a vehicle provided with seats arranged in a generally longitudinal direction.
2. Description of the Background Art
A vehicle of the background art is provided with a rear seat for rear occupants who are positioned sitting behind a front seat of a driver's seat. This seating arrangement is further described in Japanese Patent Document No. JP-A-3-67287, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. In this type of vehicle seating arrangement, a scooter-type double motorcycle or a scooter-type three-wheeled vehicle is provided in which a rider that steers a handlebar sits in a front seat and a rear occupant(s) sit in a rear seat(s).
In these types of seating arrangements, the present inventors have determined that it is desirable in a vehicle such as a motorcycle or a three-wheeled vehicle to provide for a maximum number of occupants without substantially increasing the size of the required seating area and the vehicle itself. Therefore, it will be desirable to enable the seating of more than one rear occupants on a single rear seat while simultaneously ensuring the safety and comfort of the rear occupants.